The calmness in his voice is unnerving: Perhaps for the first time ever, Lewis Black is not yelling. In fact, on more than one occasion he actually has to speak up because his raspy voice comes across as a whisper on the phone.

As it turns out, Black’s demeanor is merely a whisper of his stage personality: The exacerbated yelling is toned down and the curse words few and far between. One thing remains consistent with his performances, though: He does a lot of finger pointing at the politicians caught in his headlights.

For those unfamiliar with his work, Black’s career began in Madison almost 12 years ago when he recorded his first stand-up CD, The White Album, at the Comedy Club on State Street.

“I’m always comfortable in Wisconsin,” Black said, audibly excited to return for his show at the Overture Center on Oct. 8. It’s no surprise that one of the things he’s looking forward to most about coming back to Madison has to do with alcohol.

“You know, you people know how to drink, so that makes it a lot more interesting,” he said. “I wonder what it is that you’re drinking now because every time I come back, you guys have apparently found some other new alcohol to drink.”

Four Loko comes to mind.

Straying even further from his angry stage persona, Black laughed as he combed his mind for his favorite Wisconsin drinking memory. He finally admits in quiet defeat, “If I have one, I can’t remember it.”

He’s a hard man not to like.

It’s a good bet that his audience next week will be filled with college students. Black believes students relate to him better than anyone in his audience. The connection is understandable: Here’s a man who never shies away from speaking his mind, whether he’s critiquing local politics or picking on students for drinking too much.

“I’m frustrated, and I’m angry,” Black said, “and I think that college students relate to that, because once you get away and have a lot of time on your hands to think, you usually end up frustrated and angry.”

Raised in Washington, D.C., and employed by the federal government before turning to comedy, Black has been actively involved in politics his entire life. When the conversation turned to Madison, Black was quick to relate his anger and frustration with the political turmoil surrounding the recent labor battle in Wisconsin.

“I think that Wisconsin was a progressive state,” Black said, the irritation building in his voice, “the state that basically you could say, ‘Well, the whole world’s going to hell, but there’s always Wisconsin.'”

Although he made it about 10 minutes without cursing, Black was unable to hold back once the conversation turned to Scott Walker. He began muttering to himself in short, inaudible grumbles before finally bursting out: “You wanna take away collective bargaining? Go fuck yourself!”

It may seem a pointed summary of the last year’s tensions in Madison, but this is coming from a man who makes a very good living off of being angry. So what is it that pisses him off the most?

“Stupidity, at any level. That’s what really gets me going,” Black said.

Confronting the “stupidity” he hates so much, Black appeared as a correspondent on “The Daily Show” earlier this week to challenge the controversy surrounding Chaz Bono’s appearance on “Dancing With the Stars.” Black was quick to denounce the religious right’s claim that “celebrating” a transsexual on public television will lead children “down that road.”

An outspoken liberal, Black also cites Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as a prime example of American idiocy.

“So you’re gay, who gives a shit”? Black said. “But really, you know, this is a country that’s supposed to celebrate its diversity and its freedom, but really freedom and diversity scare the shit out of a lot of people.”

Despite his fatalistic tone, there’s a hint of optimism in his voice. There’s something refreshing about a man who stands proudly behind his work – especially when that work is saying what most of us are too afraid to say ourselves.

So why should people come to the Madison show?

Lewis Black pauses, then answers:

“Well, because life isn’t just football.”

Black performs Saturday at the Overture Center. Tickets are $39.50-$49.50 and are available at overturecenter.com.